A reason to keep death penalty

Defense attorney David A. Lane outlines the reasons Colorado should abolish the death penalty. He leaves out the big reason it should not be abolished. Say a man commits a murder and is sentenced to life without parole. While in prison, he kills a fellow inmate, or worse, a prison guard. What to do? Sentence him to another life sentence? He kills again. Another life sentence?

Without the death penalty, Mr. Lane, you just have given him a “license to kill.”

Earl Becker, Wheat Ridge

This letter was published in the Dec. 13 edition.

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Lets say you give the man the death penalty Mr. Becker, and he kills another inmate, or worse, a prison guard. What to do? Give him two death sentences? He kills again. Another death sentence?

primafacie

Both you and Mr. Becker make solid points.

Unfortunately, I don’t have an answer for either of you.

peterpi

You don’t understand Mr. Becker:
Make the defendant’s seat in the court room an electric chair. If the jury votes death penalty, the judge pulls the switch.

johnrpack

Bingo.

Robtf777

The Letter Writer is absolutely correct.

Those sentenced to “Life” or even “Life Without the Possibility of Parole”…….basically have no incentive NOT to take another life…….except for the obvious one: His or her own DEATH……by other inmates……..or even by Correctional Officers in self-defense and/or the defense of another as a result of the “use of that force that was and is necessary” to stop an attack that is causing or is likely to cause serious injury or death.

The “defense lawyer’s” assertion that giving a “Lifer” another “Life” sentence…..or, theoretically, even another dozen “Life” sentences…….on top of the first one……is sufficient to quell any further thoughts of committing a murder or an assault…….is something that only “defense attorneys” and their ilk are simple-minded enough to actually believe.

Robbers rob; Thieves steal; Rapists rape; Child Molesters molest children…….until caught…….and then, even in jail and prisons……inmates steal from other inmates……inmates sexually assault other inmates………and Murderers who murder are basically no different: They will murder if given the chance, the incentive, and the recourse of No Real Additional Punishment.

The Death Penalty is the only thing that……ultimately……will prevent a Murderer from ever committing another murder.

The other “useful” purpose for the Death Penalty being a Very Real Possibility…….is the Quick Adjudication of cases such as Castro……who “took a plea bargain” to avoid the possibility of the Death Penalty at a trial…….and then supposedly committed suicide soon after in his prison cell.

DR

“The Death Penalty is the only thing that……ultimately……will prevent a Murderer from ever committing another murder.”
—–

Apparently the criminals in Texas didn’t get that memo. They carry out the most executions in the country and they still have one of the highest murder rates in the country. Odd isn’t it? And if the threat of the death penalty didn’t stop someone from committing murder the first time, why would it stop them the second or third?

peterpi

Plus, I’ve seen references to statistics that states with no death penalty have a lower per capita violent crime rate.

Al

100 percent of the people executed never committed another crime.

johnrpack

It’s true — the remote, negligible chance of a death sentence, carried out two decades from now, is not much of a deterrant. That could be fixed, however.

Nonetheless, the deterrant value is secondary. The important thing is to permanently remove individuals who are too dangerous even for prison so that they can’t kill again.

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